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'THINGS STILL HURT'
CELTIC WAG Summer Harl says there's no excuse for abusing footballers as she backed our Respect Our Players campaign.
The former host of Celtic TV and partner of Hoops goalie Craig Gordon is no stranger to online trolls.
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Summer, 30, was forced to leave Twitter after keyboard warriors made jibes at everything from her knowledge of the game to her accent and appearance.
Now she's taking a stand by getting behind our Respect Our Players campaign, which was launched in the wake of a seemingly never-ending stream of abuse suffered by players on the pitch, on the street and online.
Blogger Summer is originally from Norwich but now lives with Craig, 36, and his two kids in Edinburgh.
She told The Scottish Sun: "People would claim to know me yet I had never seen or heard of them before and I would receive comments on everything from my knowledge of the game, my accent, my appearance - anything!
"I saw the abuse that the players and people associated with the club received and I was on the receiving end of a lot too.
"It was unavoidable.
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"Some of it would hurt, and would stay with me but over time I developed the tools to not care, and that helped a lot - though I should never have had to."
She added that the players may be perceived as Invincible after pulling off the Treble Treble - but they're only human.
She explained: "Blood, sweat and tears goes into football.
There is a huge lack of empathy for footballers and anyone connected to them.
Summer Harl
They are hardened to a lot of things and have developed thick skins because they’re in a world of pressure and criticism, but things still hurt.
They’re no different. I think people forget that.
"We [WAGS] see our partners give their all 24/7, we wave them off, and we welcome them back -then we have to read and witness people being so cruel, racist and beyond, towards people we love.
"It’s hard.
"There is a huge lack of empathy for footballers and anyone connected to them.
"They are hardened to a lot of things and have developed thick skins because they’re in a world of pressure and criticism, but things still hurt.
"They’re no different. I think people forget that.
"That human side gets completely lost and over-looked.
"Some of what gets written are clearly throw away comments, maybe typed in the heat of the moment, in anger.
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"But there's no excuse. It’s still abuse."
Respect Our Players is calling for football fans to stand up to yobs and trolls by calling out online abuse and reporting it.
One recent sickening incident saw a 15-year-old was charged by cops and banned from Ibrox over a vile taunt aimed at Scott Brown mocking his sister Fiona, who died in 2008 from skin cancer aged 21.
Respect Our Players campaign: Ex-Celtic WAG Lisa Hague opens up on taunts about daughter’s death
It's the latest in a series of shameful flashpoints including sectarian and racist abuse, missiles chucked at players and horrendous online insults.
Summer said: "To them [trolls], it’s just a few characters on a screen, but to others it can be so damaging.
"It makes no sense to me that fans would abuse players who play for their team.
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"That player may already feel under appreciated or over-worked.
"They may be struggling with confidence, or battling other things.
"They may be struggling with issues in their personal life, or feeling homesick or under pressure.
We can all do our bit to be kinder and be more considerate for what people are going through .
All it takes is for people to think before tweeting, or hitting send on those awful messages and to put themselves in the shoes of the person on the end of that message.
Summer Harl
"I would like to think that this campaign will encourage those who see abuse to speak out a little more.
"People are so reluctant to do so, as they feel it opens them up to be targeted too - but the likers and the retweeters are just fuelling the fire for online trolls.
"We can all do our bit to be kinder and be more considerate for what people are going through .
"All it takes is for people to think before tweeting, or hitting send on those awful messages and to put themselves in the shoes of the person on the end of that message.
"To imagine their loved ones receiving a message like that.
"Like the campaign’s message; respect our players.
Scottish Sun’s #RespectOurPlayers campaign calls on fans to make a stand against the yobs and trolls shaming our game
"But respect everyone you meet, or don’t meet.
"Respect everyone - footballers don’t deserve any more respect than others, we’re all the same.
"But they don’t deserve the abuse either."
MORE #RESPECTOURPLAYERS
Former Celtic WAG Lisa Hague has also backed our campaign.
Lisa told how she and partner Kris Commons were taunted three times over the stillbirth of their daughter Lola.
- You can follow Summer Harl on Instagram and her blog, notanotherblogger.
Hilarious moment Celtic fan has can of Tennent's lowered to him from flat window during treble treble celebrations
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